My household has received a number of political mailers from out-of-town government employee unions, each endorsing council candidates Katrina Foley and Jay Humphrey and opposing the proposed Costa Mesa charter, Measure O.
We have also received phone...

The ideological differences surrounding Costa Mesa's proposed charter are as simple as most other Republican-Democrat issues, and the anti-charter comrades need to stop masking their motives and be honest: They want more unionization.
Make no mistake....

An influential conservative group in Orange County has pulled its endorsement of an Assembly candidate, saying he broke a pledge to reject political donations from public employees unions.
The Lincoln Club of Orange County no longer lists Newport...

Editor's note: Attorneys John Stephens and Tim Sesler, two members of Costa Mesa's Pension Oversight Committee, asked the Daily Pilot to publish the panel's findings and recommendations. The committee put together a series of three articles that seek to...

As of Dec. 31, the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. Political Action Committee had $76,115.67 on hand. By the end of summer, it should have more than $90,000 at its disposal.
The Newport Beach Police Employees Assn. Political Action Committee had $89,192.28 on hand. It should hit $100,000 by the time election season heats up.
According to Newport Beach's human resources director, the Lifeguard Management and Police associations' contracts are up June 30, with negotiations between the police and the city...

At the last Costa Mesa City Council meeting, I was pleased to see savings of more than $1 million result from negotiations with employees. The transparency of COIN confirmed this success.
COIN, the Civic Openness in Negotiations ordinance, requires public disclosure of traditionally closed labor negotiations between the city and its public employee unions. COIN allows the public to see and comment on formal proposals before the council votes on them.
Had COIN been in place from 2000 to 2010, residents...

There is a lot of misinformation and mystery about the compensation Congress receives.
So I did some research at http://www.About.com and called the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives at (202) 225-7000.
Senators and representatives receive an annual salary of $174,000, with the exception of the speaker, who is paid $223,500, and the Senate majority and minority leaders, who each receive $193,400. But those amounts are also subject to a cost-of-living increase each year, unless...

I recently read a claim that underfunded pension obligations for city employees were imaginary.
Consider the following hypothetical, which is analogous to what's facing thousands of public employees in the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS), including those in Costa Mesa, who are looking forward to retiring in the coming years.
A recently hired 35-year-old accountant has been told by his physician that he will slowly lose his eyesight over the next 30 years. At that time he will no...

Re. "Study describes distrust within city, but finds hope," (Oct. 10): I read with personal interest Bradley Zint's recent article about Costa Mesa's attempt to "connect" with its employees by hiring an expert to interview them about what is good and bad about the municipal culture at City Hall.
The "Espinoza Report," as it has come to be referred to by city employees, confirms what employees have been feeling and saying for nearly three years, that there "is strong sentiment that the city of Costa...

The Costa Mesa City Employees Assn. is seeking a temporary restraining order Tuesday morning against an attempt to outsource jobs at the city jail.
The proposed contract with G4S Secure Solutions — which is up for a vote of the City Council the same evening — is expected to save the city up to $3.2 million over a five-year period with the firm's "cutting-edge" technology, according to a city news release.
No layoffs are projected for city employees under the G4S contract. The workers would...

The Costa Mesa City Council voted late Tuesday night to outsource its jail after a judge earlier in the day denied a request to block that move.
The council's 4-1 decision, with Councilwoman Wendy Leece dissenting, approved a contract with G4S Security Solutions that officials say is projected to save city coffers more than $3 million over five years compared to the current setup.
The Orange County Employees Assn., which represents a contingent of Costa Mesa workers, had sought a temporary restraining...